Abstract

Henri-François Imbert's No Pasaràn! Album souvenir (2003) focuses on a lesser known episode of the Spanish Civil War; half a million Republicans fled their country after Franco's victory and crossed the border into France only to be ‘parked’ in makeshift refugee camps, ostracised by the host country about to fall into the hands of the Vichy government. The film is an illustration of the validity of cinema as a medium to help us understand history and offers welcome alternatives from the cliché-ridden representations of migrants in popular culture.